


Only One Moment

by Nelioe



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Not Related, Angst, Car Accidents, Christmas, Engagement, Fighting, Fili loves Kili, Fili's family doesn't like Kili, Hospitals, Hurt Fíli, Hurt/Comfort, Kili's family doesn't like Kili, M/M, Worried Kíli
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-02
Updated: 2015-11-02
Packaged: 2018-04-29 16:00:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5133625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nelioe/pseuds/Nelioe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Christmas. It should be a happy time, filled with spending time with their loved ones. Instead everything goes wrong and Fili suffers the consequences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Only One Moment

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WerewulfTherewulf (FerrellOConnellMcGee)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=WerewulfTherewulf+%28FerrellOConnellMcGee%29).



> Prize for the Summer Fandom Raffle Exchange. Requested was an angsty modern AU with hurt/comfort.  
> Gosh, I really hope you like it, I had a hard time writing it due to writer's block.

 

 

“Kili!” Fili’s voice echoed through the house, from the beginning of the stairs on the ground floor up to the first floor where their bedroom was located. “Hurry up! I don’t want to get into that snowstorm they talked about in the news.”

Kili pulled a face, still busy with packing, although he could be long done with it if it weren’t for the fact that he tried to delay their departure on purpose. He kind of hoped the snowstorm would start sooner, forcing them to celebrate Christmas at home, just the two of them. But of course he could count on the weathergirl to be right with her weather report for once, there were merely heavy, white clouds suffusing the sky. And should he attempt now to pack even more slowly Fíli was going to become suspicious.

With a sigh he gazed at the luggage and grimaced when he noticed he’d actually finished. Perhaps Fíli’s family could be nice, but if they had such a side they had never shown it to him. Kili could imagine so many other things that would be more fun than spending Christmas with Fili’s family… a dental operation for example.

Before he was able to wallow in self-pity even longer, however, the sounds of footsteps reached his ears and so Kili hurriedly zipped his bag.

“Hey,” shoving his head through the ajar door, Fili said, “you done yet?”

Averting his eyes to hide his unhappy expression he just nodded, swallowing his frustration and got to his feet from where he was crouching beside the bag. “Yeah,” he answered. “Let’s go.”

The car was parked right in front of their little, but cosy, house. Normally Kili loved their house, now however, on the way to Fili’s parents and who else from his family would be present, the brunet couldn’t help but look at their home with a mixture of reluctance and worry. It was just another thing they liked to talk about, that he was only taking advantage of Fili, since he had paid for the house, was paying for all arising expenses right now and even taking care of both of their health insurances while Kili tried to find a job. His situation was just what they were waiting for. Casting one last longing glance to the sky, Kili sighed silently and put his bag to Fili’s into the car boot while his boyfriend locked the door to their house.

And just a few minutes later they were on the road, normally driving together wasn’t uncomfortable, but today was different. After attempting to start a conversation with Kili, only earning a shrug with the shoulders or a hummed sound of agreement Fili had given up. When at last the radio started to become annoying Kili to turn it off, unable to listen to any more Christmas songs and the happily chattering hosts, from then on they just drove in silence with only the steady rumbling of the engine to keep them company.

The first fat snowflakes had started to spin down onto the streets when Fili decided to pull the car over for a short break. Kili wasted no time, got out of the car and stretched his limbs, groaning at the thought that he would have to sit through another three hours until they finally reached Fili's parental home, it was like being lead to the butcher.

Meanwhile Fili had gotten out as well, slamming the driver’s door shut with way more force than was necessary. Even if Kili wouldn't have known him for years already, it wasn't hard to grasp that Fili was pissed. Oh, normally his boyfriend was a patient soul, today as well or he would've started ranting a long time ago instead of enduring the awkward silence while driving for such a long time. But just like every other person the blond had a point when all the anger wanted, no, needed to get out and it seemed they had reached it now.

"How long will you go on with this childish behaviour?” Fili glared at him, shoving his hands under his armpits to stay warm since he hadn’t bothered to put his jacket back on before getting out of the warm car.

This was all it took for Kili to lose it. As if he wasn’t in for a miserable time already, now Fili had to look at him with this gaze, with this horrible judging gaze the brunet loathed so much.

“Well, that depends how childish your family will act,” Kili snapped, the freshened wind biting his skin and making his eyes water.

With eerily sereneness the snow slowly started to cover the streets, only the heat of the engine preventing their car from suffering the same fate. Usually Kili liked the snow and the cold days, but right now there was really nothing beautiful about it, instead he seethed with rage. He had enough of Fili’s ridiculous family, he had enough of Fili coming to their defence and he’d especially enough of playing the silent victim. No more. _No more_.

“Kili,” Fili sighed in this defeated tone Kili equally despised.

“No, don’t you dare start like this, you never say anything about it!”

There was only ever an apologetic smile on his lips whenever Fili’s mother or any other relative started to talk about what an awesome person the blond’s ex had been. How polite and well behaved and so civilized. He also kept quiet when they talked as if Kili was stupid, as if he only took advantage of Fili’s kindness, as if he was going to break Fili’s heart any day, as if he was the worst boyfriend on the planet. Not forgetting that one awful evening during the birthday of Fili’s mum, when she had called Ori and invited him over without her son’s knowledge. They had been placed next to each other, while Kili had been seated on the other end of the table, right beside Fili’s arrogant cousin and had to listen to them all going on about what a cute couple Fili and Ori still were and “ _you two should really try again, you are perfect for each other. Don’t you want to consider it?”_

And Kili had sat through this, the whole evening, swallowing the hurt in his throat and biting the insides of his cheeks to stay quiet. It had taken him all of his self-control to act like he didn’t notice how much they wanted to kick him out of their life, how much they wanted him to stay away from their perfect Fili. But he had somehow managed to get through the evening, needing nothing more as an incentive than the man he loved, for he had seen how uncomfortable Fili had looked. Something only he seemed to be able to see. It had strengthened their relationship back then, when they had only been together for a couple of months, had shown him how strong their bound was already, stronger than anything he’d ever felt before. And he had known in this moment that Fili was worth fighting for, that they belonged together and no one was going to break them apart, not even his boyfriend’s family.

Well, he wasn’t that confident anymore.

“What do you want me to say? Do you want me to scream at my family every time they say something you don’t like? For fuck sake, I see them three times a year to be considerate of your feelings. So is it really too much to ask that I don’t want to fight with them on these three occasions?”

Kili blinked, barely believing his own ears.

“Oh no, I’m not taking the blame for this! You can visit your family whenever you want, just don’t expect me to come with you and act all happy while they talk about how much I’m taking advantage of you!”

What would they say when they heard he was unemployed for a few months now? When they heard that Fili was paying for everything? Not one of them would care that it had been Fili encouraging him to quit his job, because of how miserable his awful colleagues, his racist boss and the crazy working hours had made him feel. No, they were only going to hear the word unemployed and treat him even more as a parasite.

“They just need time to warm up to you,” Fili replied, shouting just as loud as Kili. It didn’t matter anyway; there wasn’t a soul in sight. It was just them and the snow-covered, empty street.

The brunet wondered if his boyfriend even realised how ridiculous his words sounded.

“They had six years to warm up to me!” The urge to hit or kick something had never been so strong, unfortunately there wasn’t anything to turn his rage to physically and so he had to make do with the tight sensation inside his chest, feeling like it was going to tear him apart sooner or later. Perhaps screaming could help, too, but he kind of was already doing this with Fili.

His boyfriend seemed just as frustrated, his brow furrowed, glaring daggers at him and trembling with suppressed anger.

“Damn it, Kili! Can’t you at least try to understand? They did everything for me! I wouldn’t be who I am today if it wasn’t for them, all of them! When I got sick as a child so often that I had to go to the hospital four times a year my mum was always there to make me feel better, every damn day! They support me all the time, no matter what I want to do! I owe them everything! And you know it, I told you everything about it and if this isn’t enough for you to understand why I don’t want to fight with them all the time then perhaps you never loved your family!”

It was silent for a moment while the anger in Kili died such a quick death it nearly made him lose his balance. After all those years Fili had just… it didn’t even matter that his boyfriend’s face morphed into a horrified expression not much later. The words had left his mouth and there was no taking them back. Kili’s gaze wandered helplessly to the thin layer of snow at his feet. He wanted to throw something just as hurtful back at Fili, but his mind was blank, still too shocked to form a coherent thought. A long forgotten pain had returned to his chest, reminded him of every cruel remark his parents had used on the day he’d come out to them. Of course he hadn’t imagined it to go well, but he didn’t expect things to take such a turn for the worse. He’d only wanted to be honest with them, wanted to introduce Fili to them, wanted to stop hiding, instead he found himself disowned.

“We should drive on before we get snowed in,” he said, not meeting Fili’s eyes as he got back into the car.

“Kil-” Fili started, but his voice was cut off by the closing of the door.

Fastening his seat belt the brunet averted his gaze when Fili slid onto the driver’s seat, unable to face his boyfriend right now. He didn’t know how to feel, there was a strange numbness sitting deep within him.

“I’m so sorry, Kili. I was angry. I didn’t mean any of it. I’m sorry, I know you love your par-“

“Let’s just drive, okay?” Words… just calm words… without a bite in his voice, there was no point in fighting.

Beside him Fili sighed, a sound filled with so much remorse Kili almost regretted his unresponsive attitude.

“I’m sorry,” his boyfriend tried again, still receiving no answer.

For the next hours Kili kept himself busy with staring out of the window, watching as the wind and the snowfall got worse; of course they would hit the blizzard now while such a tense atmosphere reigned the inside of the car. And perhaps, if Kili had brought himself to forgive his boyfriend, he might have seen the car losing control on the icy street in time to warn Fili.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Kili groaned as he came around again, a strange smell of smoke and petrol hitting his nose. Shit, his neck hurt. Blinking his heavy lids open the first thing he saw was a white sort of darkness. A confused sound left his lips, his mind trying to figure out what was going on, but not getting very far.

“Fili,” he mumbled, barely able to form the words with his tongue. Somewhere deeply buried under the fog in his head he knew that his boyfriend had to be with him. Maybe he could tell him what happened, why everything felt too heavy, why his neck was hurting as if his head would fall off should he decide to move it.

There was no answer.

Fili had been with him in the car, hadn’t he?

…

The car…

Shit!

Abruptly turning his head to the left Kili regretted it immediately when an unbearable pain shot through the back of his neck. He cursed, breathing hard through his nose and waited for the agony to abate. Concentrating on the daggers penetrating his head and neck helped him to focus. Made him aware of the freezing temperatures inside the car, of the snow covering the windscreen and allowed him to notice Fili, slid down in his seat and sitting there in an awkward angle. The airbag had opened and probably cushioned the impact, just as the one on Kili’s side must’ve done as well, but there was still something strange about Fili’s position, slumped between seat and steering wheel.

“Fili?” Kili croaked, the pain in his neck forgotten under the sudden wave of fear flooding through him. His heart pounded painfully in his chest, ringing ears drowning out the eerie silence inside the car. Fili wasn’t waking up. Fili wasn’t moving. Fili… Fili… “Fili!” He screamed, voice cracking with fright.

But there was no response. Not even the twitching of a muscle. There was nothing. Nothing. Nothing. A panicked sob wormed its way into his throat, nearly choking him with the sudden tightness. Kili tried to swallow around it, to stop the tears announcing themselves with a burning behind his eyes and guided trembling fingers to his boyfriends shoulder. He shook him, gently at first, but soon way more forcefully in his panic.

That couldn’t be happening. Fili couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t. This was all wrong. No… no… nononono!

“Fili!” He whimpered. “Fili, please,” the first sob erupted, strong and unrelenting. “I’m sorry,” he cried. If they hadn’t fought. If he hadn’t been so damn whiny. If he had just accepted Fili’s apology. He’d known Fili didn’t want to hurt him and had still refused to listen to the love of his life. Fili was everything and now he wasn’t moving. Kili was his co-driver, he should’ve kept an eye onto the street instead of pouting. He should’ve warned Fili. He should’ve saved him! “You can drag me to your parents whenever you want, I won’t complain… ever... just please… please wake up!”

And then the most beautiful sound in the world reached his ears, a soft groan escaped through Fili’s slightly parted lips. Relief eased Kili’s breath. Fili was alive! And he needed help. As soon as this crossed his mind the brunet’s thoughts started roaring inside his head. It was far too cold in the car and although his boyfriend lived he still wasn’t responsive. He had to be hurt, badly. Shit… shit… he needed an ambulance.

Sluggishly fumbling for his phone Kili held on to Fili with his other hand, as if letting go of him would cause him to lose the blond for good. Despite his short lived relief he hadn’t really stopped trembling, was feeling nauseous while he dialled the number and although he wasn’t wearing his coat he was sweating because of the heat his agitated system surged through him.

 _He is going to be fine. I will get him help. He is going to be fine_ , Kili told himself while he waited for the call to be connected.

Sobbing with gladness when hearing a female voice accepting his call he missed her words completely, just started to ramble about the accident instead, telling the woman on the other side of the line that Fili was hurt and where they had been hit by the other car.

 _“Sir, Sir! You have to calm down,”_ she asked, almost causing Kili to laugh hysterically. How was he supposed to calm down when the man he loved could be dying beside him?

Strangely enough, it was exactly that thought that forced him to take a few slow and steady breaths. Fili needed him, now wasn’t the time to lose control.

“Yeah,” he exhaled, swallowing down his emotions with difficulty. “Alright.”

_“Can you tell me how badly he is hurt?”_

Kili’s eyes roamed over Fili’s motionless body, his chest constricted at the sight. From where he was sitting the brunet could only see part of his boyfriends form, perhaps he was bleeding somewhere on the side turned to the door while Kili had been panicking. Trying to ignore the pain his heart, he tilted his head, examining the other as best as his blurring vision allowed him.

“He… ah… one of his legs looks… looks weird, kind of,” he grimaced, “twisted… I can’t see anything else, but he’s unconscious and I didn’t move him, isn’t it better to avoid moving him too much?” He wondered, partly to himself and partly to the woman he’d called.

And just like that he let go of Fili’s shoulders as if it had burned him. What if his desperate shaking had hurt something inside the other? What if he’d caused irreparable damage?

 _“-hurt anywhere?”_ The voice at the other end of the line startled him

“What?”

_“Are you hurt anywhere?”_

“Wha- I… no. I’m fine.”

_“Okay, that’s good. You are doing fine, just keep calm, the ambulance is on its way, it could just take longer since the streets are snowed under. But they will be there. They will help your friend.”_

“Boyfriend,” he croaked.

_“How old is he?”_

“He-“ the brunet started but immediately realising that he couldn’t remember. Knowing the year of his birth didn’t help either seeing as his brain wasn’t able to do the maths. “He… I… I don’t… born 1988, July 20… I can’t…”

 _“It’s all right. Don’t panic. Remember, the ambulance will be with you very soon,”_ she soothed him. _“You are still in the car, aren’t you? How are the temperatures in there?”_

“Cold, I guess.”

_“Do you have a first-aid kit in the car?”_

“Yes.”

_“Okay, I want you to get the rescue blanket. You need to keep your boyfriend warm and wait for the ambulance. Can you do that?”_

“Yes, yes, of course.” He hurriedly answered.

Keeping him warm… heavens why hadn’t he thought of that. His head was such a mess. Unbuckling his seatbelt was harder than expected since the accident seemed to have bent parts of it and so he was stuck for quite some time until Kili got finally free. Leaning towards the back seat the brunet grabbed his coat and carefully spread it over his boyfriend. Hopefully it would help a bit while he got out and tried to find the first-aid kit in the car boot, probably buried somewhere under their luggage.

Getting out of the car Kili staggered slightly, needing to hold on to the snowed in vehicle to support himself. He closed the door as fast as possible to prevent even more cold air from getting inside. Fili… Fili was his priority right now. Still, he couldn’t help but have a look at the battered bonnet, where the other car must’ve hit them. The brunet was no expert when it came to cars, but he was pretty sure this was a total loss, the engine had to be broken completely. The accident perpetrator, however, was missing. Kili barely managed to swallow his anger, Fili was in this car, half-lying half-sitting, perhaps even fighting for his life. He felt the urge to scream while icy wind bit into his cheeks, sneaking under his clothes and pushing snowflakes into his eyes. It must’ve been one of those monstrous cars if the other was able to hit and run after such an accident.

But he couldn’t dwell on it any longer, hurried through the snow to the boot of the car and started looking for the first-aid kit. It didn’t take long and soon he was climbing back inside, spreading now also the rescue blanket over his unconscious boyfriend. God, his skin felt so cold. How hadn’t he noticed it before? He was cold and pale and hurt and the thought of losing him took his breath away. Fili couldn’t die. He couldn’t!

Outside the awful weather went on. What if the ambulance couldn’t find them? The car was covered by a thick layer of snow and the engine was dead. And what if they didn’t even come that far because of the blizzard? Shit. This couldn’t be happening. He was already considering calling again, hoping to be contacted with the lady he’d just talked to again, when Fili’s suddenly moaned. The second sign of life he made since the accident.

Kili leaned as close as the seats allowed. “Fili?”

The blond’s shallow breaths changed, became deeper as he recovered consciousness. Blinking, Fili attempted immediately to look around, but Kili, having expected such a reaction, gently cupped his boyfriend’s face with his hands and forced him to stay still.

“Shh,” he soothed him as a distressed whimper left Fili’s throat. “Don’t move.”

“Kee,” Fili slurred, eyes wandering in his direction, but he didn’t try to turn his head again, allowing his cheeks to be stroked by Kili’s gentle thumbs. “What-“

“We had an accident,” he answered softly, no longer caring for the tears blurring his vision and running down his cheeks. Their situation was shit and the small part of composure he’d been able to maintain priorly crumbled under Fili’s condition, whose tongue wasn't even strong enough to form a simple sentence.

“Y’urt?”

Kili almost laughed at the absurdity of the circumstances. His boyfriend was worried for him, while he suffered from who knew what injuries.

Sniffing, he answered: “No. No, I’m fine. You are the one that’s hurt.”

“Oh,” Fili breathed, as if he hadn’t really thought about that. “Hurts.” Under his fingers the brunet could feel the tension in Fili’s jaws, how they moved from one moment to another, telling him that his boyfriend had to be biting on the insides of his cheeks, unable to cope with the pain in his body any other way.

“I know,” he said gently, hoping to comfort him with whispered words full of love. But his voice betrayed him, wavering ever so slightly in the cadence of his wobbling lips. This was all Fili. His boyfriend knew how to soothe and chase away the pain of a hurt heart or a sore limb. He felt so helpless. There was nothing he could do, no option to take the pain from him, no way of comforting him. Kili could only watch the man he loved suffering. “The ambulance is on its way. Don’t worry. They will be here soon.”

Fili whimpered again, attempting to move his head once more, but Kili held it firmly in place. Even if this position made it worse for his boyfriend, they couldn’t take the risk. He mustn’t move, not until they knew where he was hurt. Kili couldn’t allow him to injure himself further.

“Just hold on, Fili. They will be here soon. I love you so much, please don’t give up.” These words became his mantra over the next minutes, murmuring them feverishly to give his boyfriend something to hold on to, while the blond just breathed, shallow and laboriously, occasionally groaning with pain. It broke Kili’s heart, made the urge inside him to just start sobbing grow immeasurably. But somehow he managed to keep going, only focusing on his words, on the incessant stroking of the other’s cheeks, on every heavy breath that spoke equally of agony and life.

"Kee?" Fili asked him eventually.

"Mh?"

"There... there is... a little... box... in my... bag," obviously doing nothing but breathing through the pain had given the blond's tongue some of its strength back, but Kili couldn't see it as a good sign, not when Fili had to stop so often to catch his breath.

He wondered what was up with this little box, it had to be important if Fili brought it up now of all times, which was exactly why he didn't confront his boyfriend with his thoughts, hoping it was going save his breath and set his mind at ease if he just complied.

"A little box? What about it?"

"Get it..., please."

"Now?" Kili gaped at him in shock. He couldn't just leave him in this condition, not even if it was Fili's wish. How was he ever to forgive himself if his love got worse and he wasn't there with him?

"Please," Fili repeated, grimacing with agony. "'s important... please... promise I won't... move... won't die," he told him, probably sensing Kili's inner conflict. He wanted to tell him that he couldn't make such promises, that he didn't know if he could keep them. But in the end he relented, unable to face the blond with the cruel truth, unable to cause him even more pain.

"Okay," he practically choked out. "I will get it, but don't move." The ghost of a smile crept to Fili's lips as Kili broke their physical contact for the first time.

Although everything inside him screamed at him to stay with Fili Kili got out of the car and hurrying to the boot, rummaging the luggage he soon found the requested box – it was the only box in Fili's bag anyway – wrapped into warm red coloured paper, perhaps it was a Christmas present, still Kili couldn't get his head around as to why it was so important right now.

The chance to ask his boyfriend was taken from him, however, when the headlights of an ambulance hit him. Shoving the box into the pocket of his jeans Kili started waving frantically. The surge of relief nearly crushing him as he led the paramedics to his injured boyfriend.

Fili was finally in good hands. The exhaustion the brunet hadn’t felt so far burdened his shoulders all of a sudden while he watched his boyfriend being treated from a distance. And with the tiredness in his limbs, accompanied by the urge to close his eyes and sleep for centuries, the pain in his neck and head returned.

A hand shaking him softly startled him.

“Sir!” One of the paramedics spoke to him in such an urgent voice, as if he had already tried to catch his attention a few times. “Are you hurt?”

Why was he asking that? He should be with his colleagues helping Fili. “No, I’m fine.”

“Sir, it’s freezing cold and you are standing here wearing nothing but a sweater.”

“I’m not cold,” he said, although even he knew that it had to sound ridiculous, it was the truth, though.

“Sir, I have to ask you to come with me to be examined. You could have internal injuries you aren’t feeling right now.”

“I’m fine!” Kili repeated, probably a bit sharper then was necessary as his worried gaze stayed with Fili and the other paramedics. What took them so long? Shouldn’t they prepare him for the transport already? “Just my neck hurts a bit,” adding this, the brunet hoped the guy would finally stop with this nonsense.

“This is exactly why you should allow me to have a look at you, it could be merely a whiplash, but it is also possible that it is something serious.”

“Pleural effusion, he can’t breathe! Get him out of the car! I need to do a thoracentesis!”

Another sudden rush of fear shot through his system. He wasn’t able to comprehend all of the words, but he had understood that Fili couldn’t breathe. That he was choking! This couldn’t be happening. Not now! Not when the ambulance had finally arrived. Tearing away from the paramedic beside him, his headache increasing as he did so, Kili took an abrupt step forward. His body, however, didn’t approve of this decision, his eye sight got fuzzy and then, there was nothing.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Kili woke up in a hospital bed, disorientated and tired. Needing a few seconds to remember what happened, the brunet sat up with a jerk. Regretting it immediately when his head began penetrating him painfully, he hissed but didn’t stop, getting out of bed and out of the room, looking for a nurse or doctor in hopes they could tell them if Fili was alright.

It didn’t take him long, although the guy wasn’t really happy to see him walking around just yet. Obviously he’d been hypothermic when he was brought into the hospital, but other than that and the whiplash he suffered from he’d been lucky. Fili not so much. His leg and a few of his ribs were broken and the rupture of his spleen, as well as some minor injuries that had caused the pleural effusion, was why he’d needed surgery. Kili blanched while listening to the doctor, but sighed with relief at the news that everything went well. During their conversation he also learned that the police had been informed about the hit and run accident and had taken care of their car and personal belongings inside. Besides getting well again they didn’t need to worry about anything right now. Therefore he wouldn’t stop arguing with the doctor until the guy told him where he could find Fili. He could still rest after he’d assured himself that his boyfriend was alright.

The blond didn’t have the time to do anything more than smile tiredly at him, when Kili stepped into the room, before he was engulfed in a warm, gentle hug, considerate of his injuries. They stayed like that for some time until the position got uncomfortable for the brunet’s neck, gifting him a wobbly smile Kili leaned back and pulled a chair over to sit beside his love, since his legs felt suddenly pretty weak under the wave of happiness coming with the knowledge that Fili would be alright in the end.

“How are you?”

Kili snorted. “Of course you would ask. It’s not like I had surgery.” Fili had at least the decency to look sheepish. “I’m fine, really. Just a whiplash. How are you?”

“Tired and achy,” he admitted and his still far too pale skin confirmed his words further. “But I will be fine. Thanks to you.”

“Thanks to me?” He asked, not quite believing his boyfriend's words and the warm smile on his lips.

“You kept me calm. Thank you.” There was so much love radiating from his features Kili had a hard time to resist the urge to kiss the blond breathless. But he couldn’t, as much as he wanted to, fearing it might hurt his boyfriend in the process.

Intertwining their fingers Kili smiled. “I love you.”

Fili wasn’t given the chance, however, to return such words of love, for just when he opened his lips the door to the room opened and Fili’s parents, along with their siblings, entered. His mother rushed instantly to her son’s side, hovering over him and looking like she was going to cry any second.

“Fili, my darling. I heard what happened! How are you feeling? Are your injuries severe? Why hasn’t anyone called us sooner?”

“Hit and run accident,” Fili informed her tersely. “I’m okay, mum.”

“You are in hospital, that’s hardely okay.” And just as if she was only realising now that Kili was holding the hand of her son, she turned to him, glaring at him furiously. “You,” she spat. “You didn’t even memorize the number plate?” She didn’t even give him the time to tell her that no one had asked him this until now, although it was the truth, there hadn’t been any time to memorize it. “How are we supposed to get justice for what that prick did to my son? And what where you even doing in the car? You were his co-driver! You were supposed to warn him and not just sit there stupidly and do God knows what was going on in this strange head of yours!”

It hurt… every little, cruel word. He knew it was uncalled for, but that didn’t detain it. Averting his gaze Kili swallowed. He wasn’t going to say a word, never… not after almost losing Fili today.

“Holy shit, mum! Shut up!”

The brunet couldn’t say who looked more surprised by Fili’s outburst, Kili or the blond’s mother and the rest of his family.

“Fili-“ she gasped, unable to finish what she wanted to say as her son interrupted her.

“I’m so sick of the way you and the rest of our family are treating Kili. This was not his fault. He saved my live in this car. The driver of the other car is to blame. Kili has been nothing but kind to you despite all the shit you throw at him, so don’t you dare talk to him like that! I won’t accept it any longer. He is kind and funny and was always optimistic before you started to criticize his every move! I love him and you would do well to remember that. We are engaged and he is becoming part of the family, if you like it or not!”

The silence following Fili’s outburst was deafening. Kili could hardly trust his own ears. Engaged? But when he looked at Fili his boyfriend was only staring at his mother with a determined expression. It took Dis time to regain her composure and although she opened and closed her mouth a few times no sound was coming out.

The quietness stretched on and despite the tiredness, so painfully obvious in Fili’s eyes, the blond didn’t relent. Forcing his father to cough awkwardly and walk up to his wife, carefully reaching for her. “I think we will come back tomorrow. Try to rest.”

And then they were gone. No apology, no words of goodbye, just like they had come here, they went and it was just them. Fili and Kili. Spending Christmas in the hospital.

“I’m sorry,” Fili sighed, causing Kili to meet his exhausted gaze.

“For what?”

“For never standing up for you before. For telling them we are engaged without asking you.”

“Is that what you want?” Kili pressed carefully.

Fili swallowed so audibly even the brunet was able to hear it and the apprehension the sound carried.

“Yeah,” Fili breathed. “I wanted to ask you after dinner in the presence of my family. I didn’t want them to doubt for one second that this is what I want. But of course you don’t have to feel obliged-“

“Ask me!” Kili demanded, his heart pounding so loud in his chest he was surprised Fili couldn’t hear it.

“What?” Fili replied, completely put off his stride.

“Ask me if I want to marry you,” he said, trembling with emotions he couldn’t quite place. Excitement? Fear? Happiness?

Fili blinked as he exhaled a shaky breath. “Do you,” he paused. “Do you have the little box?”

Realising what he’d been carrying with him the whole time Kili nodded hurriedly, bringing the wrapped box to light. Inside two simple silver rings were waiting as Fili opened it.

“Kili,” the blond began softly, voice overflowing with affection. “Will you marry me?”

His eyes had to be shimmering as watery as Fili’s, heart nearly bursting with joy. This was all he wanted. Fili was all he ever wanted. “Yes,” this time ignoring his worries of crushing their lips together. Just drinking in the feeling of belonging and losing himself in Fili’s love.

 

 


End file.
